The Tarantula Nebula

by David Kantrowitz

  “Shit. You mean we have to walk there and back?”

  “Yes.”

  “A hundred and thirty pounds... we’ll need four or five people to haul that out. And that’s what, fifty miles round trip? Too bad we had to leave the Expedition back home.”

  “Information is spotty,” began Seth, “but there is some data regarding caravans that operate on the surface. Residerian Wolrasi are used as pack animals as well as for hauling carts and wagons. I would recommend attempting to hire some of these animals for your own use.”

  The wall-mounted plasma screen monitor lit up, displaying a large, goat-like mammal with hooves.

  “Indeed,” said John.

  “Byron, would you please run down to the galley and grab a box of PowerSnak bars?” asked Ray.

  “Sure,” Byron replied, reassembling the first aid kit.

  “Thank you, Byron,” said Richter.

  “You’re welcome.”

  Byron exited. Friday entered as he was leaving and begged John for attention.

  “It was awfully polite of you to say thank you to him,” said Ari.

  Richter shrugged. “He did a good job.”

  “So what’s our cover story going to be?” asked Dana. “Alpha Centaurians? Refugees from Hadley’s Hope?”

  “Alpha Centauri has already been explored,” said Seth. “There is no planet there that sustains life. I suggest Perditians. They were a somewhat xenophobic race from the Delta quadrant of the galaxy. They were involved in some limited commerce but withdrew from space travel about a hundred years ago. Since they only used audio communication nobody knows what they look like. Chances are nobody around here has ever heard of them, but if they look them up they’ll find the same data I did.”

  “Sounds good,” said John. “Now what about our cover story?”

  “Seth contains the last repository of technological data from Umber,” began Christie. “The Umberians were the only ones who used Talvanium, so if we go looking for it people will assume we’re Umberian or sympathizers thereof.”

  “Yeah?”

  “So let’s say we’re working for the Zendreen. The Zendreen control Umber, so it would make sense if they discovered the usefulness of Talvanium and sent someone to go get some.”

  “Except that Talvanium is already available on Umber, remember?”

  “Oh, yeah. Shit.”

  “Well, it has been ten years. We could say that the supply on Umber has been exhausted. Who would know? I think Christie has a good idea. If we say we’re working for the Zendreen, we might have the implied protection of the Zendreen. People might be less inclined to mess with us.”

  “So we’re Perditian merchants hired by the Zendreen to buy Talvanium on Residere Alpha?” said Ari.

  John nodded. “I like it. Anybody got a better idea? Good. Dana, Ari, take those translator units and see if you can get them to interface with our computer. Looks like we’re going to be using them a lot.”

  Five minutes later, Richter headed down the hallway towards his quarters, taking the first bite of an awful banana PowerSnak bar. Ari exited the conference room and walked rapidly to catch up to him.

  “Damn, this is the worst flavor of all of them,” he said.

  “Hey, Chance, wait up.”

  Richter turned around and took another bite.

  “You did well today, Ferro,” he mumbled.

  “Are you really that surprised?”

  “Not at all. From the first day we met I knew you were a wildcat.”

  “The first day we met I did this to you.”

  Ari took Richter’s right arm and traced her finger across three white scars.

  “I hope you don’t think I’m harboring any resentment about that.”

  “Clearly you are not. How’s your arm?”

  “Well. The energy weapon just disintegrated what it hit. That’s why it bled so much. It was clean and surgical. I’m lucky I only got grazed. Byron did an excellent job on the dressing. Who woulda thunk it?”

  “You saved my life. I think I owe you one for that.”

  “We’re teammates. You don’t owe me anything. Saving each other’s lives comes with the job. Can I have my arm back?”

  “Then I should at least owe you the courtesy of being direct. You and I have been fighting along side each other for weeks now in the sims. Today’s real fight had the possibility of death, which we both almost met several times. I think it’s amazing that two things that are so different can feel so similar.”

  “Uh huh. What?”

  “The act of fighting for life, and the act of creating it.”

  Ari took Richter’s other arm, causing him to drop his food.

  “Yeah, and guess which one I’m better at? You give up certain things when you devote your life to the company. Some of my colleagues tried to combine the two anyway. They only complicated things. You and I would only complicate things, Ferro.”

  “I think it’s about time you called me Ari.”

  “I don’t want to risk becoming emotionally attached to you. It would only complicate the mission. Think about it. Do you really want to... what the hell am I going on about?”

  “I don’t know, but I wish you’d shut up.”

  Richter was able to ignore every voice in his head, every dull ache in his body, and every unpleasant smell of combat and exertion for the few seconds that Ari kissed him. Ari felt Richter leaning back, and thought he might be trying to open the door to his quarters without breaking the embrace.

  “Oh yeah, that whole blood loss thing,” Richter murmured.

  Ari guided him to the ground gently, and he passed out.

  “Damn it, I’m such a fool,” she said.

  11.

  “What the hell is Talvanium?”

  Fernwyn pulled herself out of bed, blinking at the bright light from the console on her desk. Sergeant Nathalier of Empire Security had finally called her back after six hours. Fernwyn was heavily in the grip of sleep when the call came in, and despite the good news she was still having problems following the conversation. She crossed the room and opened the blinds. The sun had just set, creating one of Residere Beta’s typically gorgeous scenes. It was hard to find a crappy apartment on Beta.

  Nathalier’s visage on the comscreen looked as tired as Fernwyn had been six hours ago.

  “A kind of ore, discovered relatively recently,” he said. “There isn’t too much data available on it through the public channels, but I was able to access some information on a private network. There was some information about the ore itself, but none on any applications. Supposedly it can be refined into element 92, and it can be useful for certain kinds of fusion reactions.”

  “Element 92? Isn’t that dangerous?”

  Nathalier shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “How much of it were the strangers trying to get?”

  “They didn’t say. I spoke with Graheim, the liquor store owner, too. He bought two hundred and fifty credits worth of alcohol from the strangers. Unfortunately, the language on the bottles can’t be translated so they offer no clues.”

  Fernwyn walked into her kitchen and began brewing a pot of yutha. The console in that room turned on automatically to allow the conversation to continue.

  “None of this adds up. An unknown ship design with an Umberian energy signature, a crew of an unknown race carrying projectile weapons, and now this Talvanium. The only thing that does make sense is that the Black Crest jumped on the bounty renewal so quickly.”

  “I suppose contacting the Zendreen ambassador is a waste of time.”

  “You suppose correctly. The Zendreen have never asked the SPF for help in their own matters.”

  “Do you think the SPF database will have more information about Talvanium?”

  “Let’s find out. Computer, access all data on Talvanium ore, including SPF files.”

  “Talvanium is a radioactive metal used primarily for power generation,” the computer replied. “It is capable of holding a massi
ve charge, but only for a moment, making it especially useful for energy weapons. However, as of the last entry, only the Umberians were ever successful in designing weapons using Talvanium. No weaponry designs were ever made public by the Umberians.”

  “Interesting,” said Fernwyn.

  “The Z'Sorth shopkeeper told me that Talvanium is only available on Residere Alpha,” said Nathalier. “It sounds to me like the Umberian resistance movement has managed to enlist the help of someone sympathetic to their cause.”

  “I suppose it’s possible that a small group of Umberians have managed to avoid capture this whole time. Perhaps they escaped to wherever these strangers come from, and together constructed a ship. If they’re looking for Talvanium, it can only mean one thing.”

  “They’re seeking to upgrade their weapons?”

  Fernwyn gestured toward the screen. “They’re preparing for an uprising. If the weapons they used at the complexium are the best they’ve got, naturally they’d be looking to upgrade their own weapons. If Talvanium is an essential part of such a plan, then one ship operating under the radar would be a perfect way to obtain it. And as far as I can reckon, the only point of such a mission would be to bring back enough Talvanium to arm an entire fleet. The strangers must be offering to provide some rather significant resources, not the least of which would be some of their own kind to man the spacecraft. The question is: why go through all that trouble and then forget to modify the energy signature?”

  “When they screwed out of here in a big hurry, they activated some sort of invisibility field. When they arrived, they weren’t using it. They must have known that we wouldn’t have let them land with it activated, or that it would attract unwanted attention, or both. If the invisibility field is their way of modifying or masking their Umberian energy signature, it’s my guess that they thought it would be okay to deactivate it temporarily for their visit to the complexium. Wait a minute, though... that doesn’t explain how the Black Crest got here so fast...”

  “You said that Talvanium is only available on Alpha?”

  “Well, it used to be mined on Umber, too, but for some reason they switched all mining operations to Residere Alpha. Either they ran out on Umber or found it was much easier to mine the stuff on Alpha. Either way, don’t forget that it was the Umberians who were the primary bankrollers for the Alpha atmospheric processing projects.”

  Fernwyn nodded, and said, “Then Alpha is the next probable destination for our strangers. I only hope they haven’t had too much of a head start.”

  “I thought the SPF wasn’t going to pursue this case any further.”

  Fernwyn stopped in her tracks. In her enthusiasm she had forgotten about a certain reality.

  “Shit! Damned fucking Rakhar! Sorry sergeant, I meant the merc guilds.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Perhaps you should ask your superiors to reconsider based on this new information.”

  “I could, but so far the strangers are only guilty of one crime, that of engaging in an unauthorized combat action. Their actions at the complexium were clearly in self-defense, your security recordings confirm that. The SPF isn’t going to spend any resources going after a class B misdemeanor, especially when the target is wanted by the Black Crest. The mercs have a much better chance of finding them, anyway.”

  “Maybe not. So far you, me and the Z'Sorth shopkeeper are the only ones who know the strangers are looking for Talvanium. The Black Crest departed Gleeful without speaking to anyone.”

  Fernwyn snapped her fingers. “Can you make sure that Z'Sorth keeps his jaws shut?”

  “Would that mean the SPF owes Empire a favor?”

  “If you make sure that the Z'Sorth doesn’t talk to anyone else, I’ll make sure you get your favor when you need it.”

  “Officer Rylie, why are you so keen on catching the strangers? A class B misdemeanor arrest isn’t going to help your career.”

  “I just want to talk to the strangers and find out about their mission. Because if we’re right about the Umberian resistance’s involvement, and we do nothing, that nice little treaty the Solar United Faction signed with the Zendreen won’t be worth a puddle of warm piss.”

  __________

  The cargo bay on the Faith was a hub of activity. The ship was due to arrive at Residere Alpha in ten minutes, for what was shaping up to be a complex and most likely arduous mission. The crew had allowed themselves ten hours to rest and recuperate after the fight on Beta, and were preparing for the next phase of the operation with zeal. Richter, roused with difficulty from his quarters an hour earlier, sat in the corner rapidly yet meticulously cleaning his rifle. John, Ari, and Ray had already finished that particular task and were organizing items needed for an eighty kilometer hike through the desert. Christie was entertaining Tycho with a tennis ball, which wasn’t a capricious task. The dog had demanded much more attention since being relieved of his Seth-channeling duties.

  “Okay, so that’s four two-quart canteens, plus eight twenty-four ounce bottles of spring water,” John was saying. “Too bad we destroyed our last load of garbage, there had to be a few empty bottles in there.”

  “It should be enough, provided we don’t get into a prolonged battle,” said Richter.

  “At least we can bring our rifles this time. Seth may be wrong about the laws on this moon, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to cross eighty clicks of alien desert without them, even if it means staying out of the city proper. Anyway, for food we’ve got six MREs per person. I’m also bringing a can of peanuts and three cans of beef stew, as some of us will no doubt need more calories than others.”

  “I’ve been thinking about it,” said Christie, approaching the others. “I want in on this one.”

  The three recently dubbed soldiers and the one veteran looked at Christie dubiously, and then at each other.

  “Nobody is preventing anyone from coming along,” began John, “but I think you’d be more useful here on the ship.”

  “I have a fair amount of combat simulation training. Not as much as you lot, but I know my way around a M1A. I got shot at back on the landing platform. I did okay.”

  “Tolliver took several sessions to get the hang of squad movement,” said Richter. “But she learned.”

  Christie bent down to scratch Tycho. “I love this ship. I’ve barely stepped off of it since we got here, though. I don’t relish the possibility of getting killed on an alien world, whether it be by hostiles or by environmental dangers. But I despise the thought of remaining behind again even more. Dana and I have our reservations about our ability to perform under stress. I sense a change in her, at least as far as her willingness to defend this ship. I sense the same change in myself, except I’m ready to leave the safety of this place behind and begin risking as much of myself as you are of yourselves.”

  John and Richter nodded their heads in solemn appreciation. Ray smiled broadly. Ari shrugged.

  “Besides,” Christie added, “would you rather carry thirty-three pounds of Talvanium each or twenty-six?”

  “Fine, you’re in,” said John. “Glad to have you, Christie. You know what combat gear you’ll need. There‘s a spare Glock 17 if you want it, but you‘ll have to fight with Ari over extra magazines as I believe it only has one. The only other problem is that we only brought four backpacks.”

  “I have a shoulder satchel that should hold my own items. For the Talvanium I’ll need something else.”

  Richter laughed momentarily. “If we can’t hire any wolrasi, we should use Byron as a pack mule.”

  “Like I’d sign off on Byron coming along,” Christie growled.

  “Byron is a resource,” said John. “And if we need him along then he comes. I think he’s ultimately harmless, and besides, with Richter and Ari scrutinizing him he won’t know whether to shit or go blind.”

  “I still don’t trust him.”

  Dana entered the cargo bay from the level one stairway.

  “We’ll be entering orbit soon,” she said.
“Seth finally restored the active scanning technology, so we’ve been able to gather more information than we would have using our own passive scans.”

  “How have we been getting around without active scanning?” asked Richter. “I would have thought it was a given.”

  “Seth has been downloading information from the net, using his own archived info, and a bit of dead reckoning when needed. The passive scans were what Christie and I originally came up with before we left Earth, and include radiographic telemetry. Now we have what amounts to radar scanning as well as long range astrophysical scans. So we were able to get the information about Residere Alpha that we needed without actually being in orbit. Not that it matters this time.”

  “So what’s the deal?” asked John.

  “I wanted everybody to come with me to the zero-g room. I’ve got something really cool to show you.”

  “You go ahead, I need to finish cleaning these fellas,” said Richter.

  Everyone else stopped what they were doing and followed Dana up the stairs.

  “Are you getting anywhere with those translator units?” John asked.

  “Yes,” replied Dana. “I uploaded several different Earth languages into them, so they should work well.”

  “Good. By the way, I never complimented you on your excellent piloting.”

  “I guess you never noticed how much time I was spending on your flight sims.”

  “I knew you were interested, I just never noticed how good you’ve become.”

  “You’re not jealous, are you?”

  John smiled. “Actually, it takes some of the burden off of my shoulders.”

  The crew walked down the length of the ship, past their quarters and into the zero-g room. As usual, the room was completely empty.

  “Seth, begin holographic astronomical display,” Dana said.

  The room melted away and revealed the exterior of the ship. Despite the fact that they had all done it many times before, the effect was still disorienting. What was different this time was Residere clearly visible, and the moon Alpha was rapidly approaching. As they watched, Seth brought the ship into orbit.